DA eyes South Korea agri model

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking to adopt the farming model of South Korea in terms of organization of cooperatives to liberate local farmers and reduce dependency on middlemen and traders.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said he plans to emulate the South Korean agriculture model which initiated the federation of all farmers and fisherfolks cooperatives and associations into one umbrella organization.

It was in the 1960s when South Korea organized several farmers and fisherfolks cooperatives into a single group called the National Agricultural Cooperatives Federation which now has over 3,300 members controlling the whole country’s farm sector.

“This is quite a difficult task given the propensity of Filipinos to form small groups and refuse to be drawn into a bigger group. But the income earning capacity of farmers and fisherfolks in the country continues to be determined by traders and middlemen,” Piñol said.

“Traders and middlemen dictate how much would be the buying price of the farmers produce and how much would be the selling price of the agricultural goods in the market," he added.

The National Agricultural Cooperatives Federation of South Korea has a net worth of P13.5 trillion where op- erations include financial services such as deposits, loans, credit cards, insurance, foreign exchange and securities.

It has a holding company which handles the marketing and supply of agricultural and livestock products through advanced expertise and efficient product distribution.

“Their cooperative has become so powerful that they could dictate government policies on agriculture and even tilt the political balance in the country,” Piñol said.